Primordial Era: A man at the mouth of the Guanjiang River marries the Third Holy Mother.

"It's broken?" Chen Changsheng frowned.

"It's shattered." The Six-Eared Macaque nodded. "All of Ran Deng's things are shattered, but the formation isn't. That means what's blocking the Eastern Emperor Bell isn't Ran Deng's restriction, but something even older underneath."

Chen Changsheng fell silent.

Kong Xuan stepped forward from behind, the five-colored divine light slowly receding behind him. He stared at the gray halo for a long time before suddenly speaking.

"This aura seems familiar."

Chen Changsheng turned to look at him.

Kong Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone carrying a hint of uncertainty: "In the primordial era, after the creation of heaven and earth, several powerful beings joined forces to seal some extremely dangerous beings. The sealing method they used was this style—using the laws of heaven as the warp and the origin of chaos as the weft, weaving a self-sufficient network of restrictions."

"Once this seal is formed, it will no longer need the magic power of the person who set it up to maintain it. It will draw energy from the world on its own and become stronger and stronger."

"I've seen something similar in ancient times, but that was a very, very long time ago. I can't remember who did it."

Chen Changsheng's expression grew increasingly grim.

A self-sufficient seal? Drawing energy from heaven and earth? Growing stronger and stronger?

This means that the longer this seal remains here, the harder it will be to break.

Moreover, the person who set up this seal must have a cultivation level of at least the peak of Quasi-Saint, or even possibly Saint level.

It is neither the Chan religion nor the Western religion.

Who is that?

In the distant void, a streak of light was rapidly disappearing into the distance.

The Taoist Master Ran Deng.

He had already run tens of thousands of miles, moving at a speed that seemed to risk his life. But when the loud noise from the Eastern Emperor Bell came, he subconsciously turned around and glanced back.

Then he was stunned.

The formation wasn't broken?

The Taoist Ran Deng stood in the void, the World-Destroying Glazed Flame Banner still tucked under his arm, his mouth half-open, his expression as if he had swallowed a fly.

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong when he was setting up the formation.

There was already a layer of something he couldn't see through on the spatial barrier surrounding the Fire Cloud Cave. After he affixed his restrictive runes, that layer not only didn't repel him, but actively accepted him, as if it were waiting for him to come.

At the time, he didn't think much of it, assuming it was a backup plan laid out in advance by his master, Yuanshi Tianzun.

But now it seems that the layer was not the work of the Master at all.

If Yuanshi Tianzun had the ability to set up a seal in Huoyun Cave that even innate treasures could not break in advance, then why would he need to send the three of them?

"Who did this...?"

The Taoist Ran Deng muttered to himself, cold sweat pouring down his back.

He suddenly had a very bad feeling—the three of them might have been used as pawns from the very beginning.

Some people had their eyes on Huoyun Cave even earlier than the Chan Sect and the Western Sect.

Using the actions of the Chan Sect and the Western Sect as cover, while everyone's attention was focused on the conflict between Chen Changsheng and Yuanshi Tianzun, that person quietly set up a real seal around the Huoyun Cave.

The restrictions set up by Ran Deng and his group were merely icing on the cake.

The real big fish are hidden underwater.

Thinking of this, Daoist Ran Deng's face turned extremely ugly. He hesitated for a moment, but finally put away his escape light and turned to fly towards Kunlun Mountain.

He couldn't make the decision on this matter himself; he had to report it to his master.

At the same moment, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva also stopped.

He hovered at the border between Mount Sumeru in the west and the primordial Central Region, with the image of the direction of the Fire Cloud Cave reflected on the Wisdom Pearl.

The Eastern Emperor Bell did not break the formation.

A strange light flashed deep within the eyes of the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta.

"This is not the formation I set up..."

His voice was soft, but there was an indescribable solemnity in it. He glanced down at the Wisdom Orb, on which a blurry rune appeared.

He had never seen that rune in any ancient texts.

Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva took a deep breath, unleashed the full power of his golden lotus platform, and accelerated his flight towards Mount Sumeru.

The outer perimeter of Huoyun Cave.

Chen Changsheng stood in front of the gray halo, his right hand pressed against the surface of the halo.

It feels cool to the touch.

It wasn't the coldness of magic, but a chill originating from the level of rules. It was as if this halo itself was part of the Heavenly Dao, belonging to no one and unbound by any power.

His primordial magic penetrated it, but it was like a pebble thrown into a vast ocean, not even causing a splash.

"Master," Yuan Hong walked to his side, a few specks of dust on his white robe, "How about we, the seven brothers of Meishan, join forces and give it a try?"

"It's useless." Chen Changsheng withdrew his hand and shook his head. "Even the Eastern Emperor Bell couldn't break it, so even if you all joined forces, you still couldn't break it."

Yuan Hong opened his mouth, but swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Chen Changsheng took out the Human Emperor's Token from his bosom, infused it with his magic power, and tried again to establish a connection with the interior of the Fire Cloud Cave.

The Emperor's Decree vibrated twice, and then—

There was no response.

Even the intermittent contact from before is gone.

The sealing formation has completely severed all passages between Fire Cloud Cave and the outside world.

Chen Changsheng tightened his grip on the Human Emperor's Token slightly, and his knuckles made a soft cracking sound.

"Six Ears".

"Your subordinate is here."

"Can your super-hearing ears hear the sounds inside this seal?"

The six-eared macaque spun its ears a few times, then closed its eyes and focused its attention for more than a dozen breaths.

Then he opened his eyes and looked at Chen Changsheng with a strange expression.

"I can hear a little bit, but it's very faint."

"explain."

"There are people speaking inside the Fire Cloud Cave. It's not Fuxi, not Shennong, and not Xuanyuan. It's another voice."

The Six-Eared Macaque lowered its voice even further.

"That voice is laughing."

A chill flashed across Chen Changsheng's eyes.

"What are you laughing at?"

The Six-Eared Macaque licked its lips, pricked up its ears, and listened for a while.

"I couldn't hear very clearly, just a few words... it sounded like—"

"Finally... it's sealed off."

Chen Changsheng's breath hitched.

He suddenly looked up, staring at the gray halo, his eyes surging with nine-colored lightning patterns.

Eye of Divine Punishment.

With the activation of the most core observation technique in Lei Zu's inheritance, Chen Changsheng's gaze pierced through the surface of the gray halo, probing deeper into it.

One floor, two floors, three floors—

He saw countless sealing runes intertwining and flowing deep within the halo. These runes did not belong to any known Daoist system; they were ancient, unfamiliar, and exuded a chilling aura.

Then, his Eye of Heavenly Punishment was bounced back by an invisible force.

"I can't see through it." Chen Changsheng groaned, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his eye.

What lies hidden deep within that seal is something even the Eye of Heavenly Punishment cannot perceive.

Chen Changsheng raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his eye, his expression becoming more solemn than ever before.

He looked down at the Emperor's Decree in his hand and remained silent for a long time.